


Four Rules for Arrow Wounds

by PangurBan24601



Category: Dragon Quest Series
Genre: Dragon Quest XI - Freeform, Friendship, HeroXErik, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, M/M, Pre-Slash, mute hero
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-07-16 09:11:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16083011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PangurBan24601/pseuds/PangurBan24601
Summary: Erik and the Luminary manage to escape through the Door of Departure, but quickly discover that Hendrick and his men left them a parting gift. Now a badly injured Erik must teach an inexperienced Luminary how to treat arrow wounds.





	Four Rules for Arrow Wounds

“Phew, we made it. That was too close!”

Erik gave Lucas a look of both relief and exhaustion. Lucas stared back, his gaze falling to Erik’s left shoulder and his eyes widening in shock. He reached out a hand to grab Erik’s other shoulder, as if to steady him.

“Huh?” Erik looked down.

“ _Oh._ ” The thief suddenly felt sick. Lucas’s grip tightened, but he couldn’t stop Erik from sinking down to his knees, his breathing now coming in ragged gasps. The arrow had pierced through his back and emerged just below his collarbone on his left side, the tip and several inches of shaft now glinting red in the sunlight.

“Well, this isn’t exactly how I wanted today to go,” Erik managed between gasps, looking back up at his companion. Lucas mimed breathing in and out, his free hand sweeping toward and away from himself.

“Yeah, you’re right. Deep breaths,” Erik agreed. With Lucas’s gentle guidance, he slowly began to steady himself.

“Thanks, hero,” Erik said once his breathing had begun to even out. “I was kind of panicking for a minute there.” He chanced another glance downward and felt the nausea return. He reached out to grip Lucas’s left shoulder and looked back up to meet the hero’s questioning eyes. _“What can I do?”_ they said.

“I’m not gonna lie to you...This isn’t good. I-- _ngh!_ \--I’m gonna need some help from you. You think you can get us to shelter?”

The Luminary dipped his head into that determined nod of his. Erik knew it was meant to be taken as serious, but he couldn’t help finding it adorable. _“How did you get to be so damn cute?”_ he caught himself thinking. A slight blush made it to Erik’s cheeks, which Lucas must have noticed because he immediately placed the back of his hand to Erik’s forehead. Lucas frowned and wrapped Erik’s right arm around his shoulders, hoisting him up in one smooth motion.

“ _Ai, ai!_ Careful with the merchandise!” Erik protested. Lucas pressed forward, setting a slow, but determined pace. Erik’s feet gradually found the dry dirt and dead grass, just barely keeping up with Lucas’s steady strides.

“Huh...I don’t recognize this place at all,” Erik commented, taking in their surroundings for the first time. Lucas lightly nudged his companion and pointed to a thin space between two rock formations in the distance.

“Good idea. Sun’s going down…” It was already starting to feel oddly cold, Erik noted.

They soon reached the rift between the rock walls and discovered an outcrop that stuck out enough to work as a makeshift shelter from potential rock slides. Lucas knelt and kept a grip on Erik while one hand dug deep into his pack to fish out an old set of traveler’s clothes. He bunched the clothes into a pillow-like shape and carefully laid Erik down on his right side.

“Thanks, hero. I could go to sleep right here and now… _Ow_!” Erik’s eyes flew open, and he rubbed his cheek with his right hand. “What the heck? You can’t just slap a wounded man like that!”

Lucas mimed sleeping, his head tilted over his clasped hands, then shook his head in warning, pointing at the bleeding arrow wound.

“Okay, yeah, I guess you’re right, we gotta take care of this first. _Damn_ , this is gonna hurt. You ever treated one of these before?” Erik asked, gesturing to his wound.

Lucas shook his head, dejected.

“No, it’s okay, I’ll show you how, no problem,” Erik said quickly. “It’s easy, you just gotta know the four rules for treating arrow wounds.”

Lucas quickly perked up, assuming the expression of a diligent student.

“Okay, rule number one. Never get an arrow wound. They hurt like hell, bleed like hell, and are prone to nasty infections. So, if ever given the choice of taking an arrow wound or not taking one, go with the latter.” Erik paused, waiting for a reaction from his companion. There was none.

“Come on, kid, it’s a joke. I’m just trying to lighten the mood here.”

Lucas gave a sort of half-smile that barely met his cheeks, let alone his eyes.

Erik rolled his eyes. “Tough crowd. All right, then. Since I was unable to follow rule number one today, we must proceed to rule number two: remove the arrow as soon as possible.”

Lucas reached forward in response, but Erik quickly batted his hand away before continuing. “Rule number three: once the arrow is removed, you must immediately stop the bleeding.” Lucas’s lips formed an “ _Ohh_ ,” shape, and he reached once more into his traveling pack to pull out another old outfit, which he promptly tore into long strips and folded into thick pads.

“Ready now?” Erik asked. Lucas fervently nodded. “Okay--go ahead and cut off the feathered end. Use my knife, it’s sharper…” Erik fumbled for a moment with his belt-- _why did he have to be left-handed?_ \--and passed Lucas his knife with trembling fingers. Erik winced as he felt Lucas brace the arrow in his back before slicing off as much of the feathered end as he dared.

“Good...Good job,” Erik panted. “Now just hold on tight to the front half and _pull_.”

Lucas grabbed a hold of the shaft sprouting from Erik’s chest and looked back at his companion, waiting for permission. Erik gave him a short nod, then looked away, teeth gritted together.

Pain exploded, and Erik cried out, one hand flying forward and gripping the soft cloth of Lucas’s shirt. The pain ceased.

“Don’t stop!” Erik snarled, “It’ll only make it worse!”

He screamed again at the renewal of fresh pain, and his hand continued to twist and pull at his companion’s shirt. Then, suddenly, the worst was over and he could feel the blood pouring from him, unchecked.

“Good, now stop the bleeding... _Now_ , hero, quickly!” Erik let out a choked gasp as Lucas firmly pressed two wads of cloth onto the entry and exit wounds. Erik’s grip on Lucas’s shirt loosened, and he felt the world spinning.


End file.
